Dear friends

These are very dark times. The Gaza population is struggling to survive in inhuman conditions, amidst deadly shelling of civilian areas, lacking food and basic necessities. The Israeli hostages are being held by Hamas in horrific conditions and also suffer from the blockade on food entering Gaza. Yesterday we marked 600 days since their abduction and the start of this seemingly endless war. It is heartbreaking, and there is no political leadership to stop these horrors.

Together with partner organizations, HaMoked petitioned Israel’s High Court of Justice – for the second time – demanding immediate entry of sufficient food and aid to the hungry Gaza population. Honestly, I am not optimistic that the Court will exercise the necessary oversight and insist that Israel respect international law and stop the starvation of the Gaza population. Since the war began, the Israeli High Court of Justice has essentially abdicated its responsibility as arbiter of Israel’s legal obligations. Last week the Ha’aretz newspaper detailed the Court’s shameful treatment of so many of our petitions.

But beggars can’t be choosers, as they say. We have so few tools to defend Palestinian human rights these days, with the hostile Israeli public climate and the obstacles to effective international diplomacy. As I have said before: litigation in Israeli courts is the worst strategy to defend Palestinians’ rights – except compared to all the other strategies.

And litigation can have some impact even without the Court’s judgement. Recently, we obtained the release of Asaad Nasasra, the Gaza paramedic who survived the attack in Rafah in which 15 aid workers were killed. These small achievements keep us going, and we at HaMoked will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to defend human rights, to aid victims, and to demand accountability.

Meanwhile, with the war raging, Israel continues to forcibly return to Gaza Palestinians who have been living in the West Bank for years. HaMoked wrote to the Israeli military arguing that international law prohibits removing people to a place where their life will be in danger. Here too, HaMoked is turning to the courts in the hope of halting these deportations, at least in individual cases. 

May we see an end soon to this terrible war, a return of the hostages and a rebuilding of all that has been destroyed.

Sincerely,

Jessica Montell
Executive Director of HaMoked